Benjamin Alexander (writer)
Benjamin Alexander is the first student with nonverbal autism to graduate from Tulane University in New Orleans. He majored in English and Jewish Studies, and is also a published writer. Alexander is a user of facilitated communication. He opposes the view of autism as a gift, and wants to be normal, claiming “I have been at war with God over my autism.” He has expressed the desire to orally communicate, function with no academic aid, and be able to take care of himself. He once wrote an essay for the university's community newspaper new wave, where he discussed his experience communicating with Steve Gleason, a former football player who suffers from ALS and also communicates by computer.
Alexander started typing at eight years old. He also claimed that he taught himself how to read. His 2004 essay My Adventure in Life won a first place award in the Young Authors Contest sponsored by the Louisiana Reading Association. Additionally, his poem Autism Sucks Part II appeared in the anthology A Celebration of Poets: Heartland Grades. He once celebrated a Bar Mitzvah, where he gave a controversial speech about how he cannot change his Autism. He also suffers from epileptic seizures. Ben uses predictive word processing software that allows him to choose from a list of words after typing a few letters. Essays are his favorite form of writing.
Alexander's use of facilitated communication is considered to be controversial, as several studies have debunked this method. However, Dr. Paul Lipkin of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore claims that although Ben seems "really rare", that "we never say never."<ref name="Irvine" />
Alexander started typing at eight years old. He also claimed that he taught himself how to read. His 2004 essay My Adventure in Life won a first place award in the Young Authors Contest sponsored by the Louisiana Reading Association. Additionally, his poem Autism Sucks Part II appeared in the anthology A Celebration of Poets: Heartland Grades. He once celebrated a Bar Mitzvah, where he gave a controversial speech about how he cannot change his Autism. He also suffers from epileptic seizures. Ben uses predictive word processing software that allows him to choose from a list of words after typing a few letters. Essays are his favorite form of writing.
Alexander's use of facilitated communication is considered to be controversial, as several studies have debunked this method. However, Dr. Paul Lipkin of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore claims that although Ben seems "really rare", that "we never say never."<ref name="Irvine" />
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